Xavi hitting his stride for world cup

Good news for Barcelona and Spain, bad news for all their rivals. Xavi says he is in the best form of his life.

The diminutive playmaker put in a match-winning performance against Real Madrid on Saturday, setting up both Barcelona goals in a 2-0 victory at the Bernabeu that put the champions top and made them favorites to retain their league title.

Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa told reporters: "The key to the match was that we gave Xavi five seconds and he played in two passes that were good enough for Barcelona to win."